Meet Our Staff

Karyn earned her master's degree in Speech-Language pathology at the University of Illinois Champagne-Urbana in 1976. She worked for several years in the hospital setting with both acute and chronic brain disorders and injuries. From 1977 through 1981 she served as a member of the hospital pediatric neurology and child abuse teams.

Karyn accepted the positions of clinical supervisor, clinic coordinator and assistant professor at Elmhurst College in 1981 where she taught several undergraduate courses including autism, language development and speech disorders. She maintained that position until moving from the Chicago area to San Diego County in 1988 where she became a consultant for several facilities including school districts, adult day care centers and non-public agencies.

Karyn is currently a board member for the San Diego Chapter of the Autism Society of America. She has presented several seminars at American Speech/Language Association National Convention, most recently in November 2005 on Parent-Infant Sign & Speak. She recently completed training in the Introduction to PROMPT Technique for treatment of apraxia and related oral-motor speech disorders.

Karyn currently teaches a CEU course through Cross Country Education in various cities throughout the country on Early Intervention and Communication Disorders in Children. Karyn is also a mentor for the Autism Tree Foundation Project, and a committee member of Involved Exceptional Parent's Day.

She has periodically presented seminars at American Speech/Language Hearing Association (ASHA)National Conventions since 1975, most recently in November 2005 on Parent-Infant Sign & Speak and at California Speech/Language Hearing Association (CSHA), most recently in April 2008 on Empowering Parents of Children with Developmental Disabilities. She completed training in the Introduction to PROMPT Technique for treatment of apraxia and related oral-motor speech disorders, which she integrates into her work with both adults and children.  

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Stephenie earned her masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2003. In graduate school she completed several internships an elementary school in the Pittsburgh Public City Schools, early intervention sites at Easter Seals School and The Early Learning Institute, and an acute care hospital. She moved to San Diego in 2003, where she began her professional career in the public school setting in the San Diego City Schools, working with children ranging from preschool through high school. Stephenie has experience evaluating and treating children with expressive and receptive language disorders, Autism, Down Syndrome, Articulation/Phonological Disorders, Learning Disabilities, Auditory Processing Disorders, Fluency, and Traumatic Brain Injury. Her interests include Down Syndrome, Expressive Language Delay, Phonological Processing Disorders, and Traumatic Brain Injury.  

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Hong Vong, M.S. CCC-SLP, earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Disorders at the University of Arkansas in 2002, and her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts in 2005. She has experience evaluating and treating a variety of ages,from preschool to adult. She evaluated and treated children in both individual and group settings at the Communication Enhancement Center at Children's Hospital, Boston, where she learned to organize, program, and utilize a variety of communication devices (low to high tech). Hong also has experience from Brigham & Women's Hospital, where she focused on the diagnostic and follow-up of speech and swallowing patients, and ran an adult aphasia group that emphasized functional language. From 2005-2008, she worked full-time as a speech-language pathologist in both high school and elementary school settings within San Diego County. Hong began facilitating Paired-Peer groups at Crimson Center in 2006, where she also provided individual weekend therapy. In June 2008 she joined our staff full-time!

 

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Nicki earned her Master of Science degree in Communicative Disorders from East Tennessee State University in 2007. Her graduate research focused on SCIP (Sound Contrasts in Phonology), an evidence-based treatment program. Additional writings include her research in the assessment and treatment protocol of high risk/early intervention populations, as well as phonological characteristics in children born with cleft palates.

Nicki completed her CF year working with middle school students in the San Diego area, and providing in-home therapy for the Early Intervention population. She has experience evaluating and treating children born high risk for expressive and receptive language disorders, school-age phonology and language disorders, and children diagnosed with fluency, resonance, and voice disorders.  

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Kristen earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of the Pacific in 2005. Her undergraduate research focused on speech perception, which she presented at the American Speech/Language Hearing Association (ASHA) National Convention. Before attending graduate school, Kristen worked as a 1:1 lead instructional aide (ABA) with young children with autism for over one year. She then attended graduate school at University of Arizona, receiving her master's degree in June 2008. Her graduate clinical practicum included rotations at the Veteran's Administration hospital, the Tucson Alliance for Autism, and a public high school, in addition to the adult and pediatric university-based clinics.

Kristen has experience evaluating and treating children with autism, cochlear implants, fluency disorders, and articulation/phonology disorders, and with adults with traumatic brain injury, primary progressive apraxia, dysarthria, and aphasia.

While working at Crimson Center, Kristen is also currently employed at UCSD where she treats adults in acute care, with a focus on evaluation and treatment of swallowing disorders, and aquired language and speech disorders.

Her clinical and research interests include: motor speech disorders, social communication in autism and PDD, swallowing disorders, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).


 

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Deanna M. Hughes, Ph.D., CCC-SLP has worked as a speech language pathologist in educational and medical settings with both pediatric and adult populations. In addition to her clinical work, she received her doctorate from Case Western Reserve University, and has also worked as a researcher and clinical faculty at San Diego State University. Her research interests include adolescent language development in both typical and clinical groups such as those with specific language impairment, and how language competence impacts social communication abilities.  

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Patricia Chien earned her masters degree at the University of Texas Callier Center for Communication Disorders in Dallas, Texas. She interned at Children's Hospital, Dallas, where she became part of the Head and Neck Surgery team, working with pediatric facial anomalies, cleft lip/palate and severe articulation disorders. At the same time, she worked with adult laryngectomy and stroke patients at Parkland Hospital. Patricia’s Clinical Fellowship Year was spent at Dean Learning Center, affiliated with the Scottish Rite Hospital in Dallas, which is a private school for severely speech, language and emotionally impaired children. She worked several years as the speech pathologist at St. Michael’s School in Dallas, then moved to San Diego in 1989 where she worked in a private practice in Scripps Ranch, providing services to a variety of clients, aged preschool through adult.

Certified in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language)at UCSD this past June, Patricia continues to take specialized coursework in accent reduction. She also recently completed training in the Introduction to PROMPT Technique for treatment of apraxia and related oral-motor speech disorders.

Patricia's current interests and areas of expertise are in accent reduction (working with high-level foreign speakers), expressive and receptive language delay, voice, articulation/phonological disorders, and reading/writing remediation with the learning disabled school age population. facial anomalies, cleft lip/palate and severe articulation disorders.  

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Marilea Brock recently moved to San Diego from the Northwest. After completing her master’s degree at the University of Oregon, Marilea worked in private practice in Seattle, Washington where she gained experience in evaluation and treatment of children on the Austism Spectrum. She is particularly interested in working with children and their families to increase social communication skills. Recently, her brought her to San Diego where she worked with students with Autism and other disorders in the school setting. Marilea has experience working with students with motor speech delays, nonverbal learning disorders, expressive and receptive language delays, and fluency issues. Marilea has been trained in PROMPT, SCERTS, and a variety of social communication approaches.  

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Eric completed his Master of Arts at San Diego State University in Spring 2005. He has worked three years in a local school district, serving K-8 students with Speech-Language Impairment, Autism/Asperger¢s, Specific Learning Disability, Orthopedic Impairment, Visual Impairment, and Other Health Impairment. He earned the Assistive Technology Applications Certificate Program from Cal State Northridge in Spring 2007. Since then, Eric has been the Assistive Technology Specialist for his school district, assessing special education students for technology in the areas of reading, writing, and communication. He is particularly interested in working with children who have augmentative communication and social language needs.
 

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Melissa earned her B.A. in Communications at Michigan State University in 2001 and her M.A. in Communication Disorders at Northern Michigan University in 2003. She worked with infants and adults with acquired/traumatic brain injury for Hope Network Rehabilitation Services in East Lansing, Michigan from 2003-2005, worked with adults with CVAs and other neurological impairments for Marianjoy, Inc. outside of Chicago, from 2006-June 2007. Melissa currently works full-time at Ibarra Elementary School in City Heights for the San Diego Unified School District, and provides in-home therapy for Crimson Center.

 

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It is with great sadness we had to say goodbye to Debbie as she and her husband have relocated to Washington, DC, where Alex will begin law school. Debbie is eager to begin her work as an SLP in a pediatric hospital. They will both be missed and we wish them all the best in their new adventure!  

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Originally from New York, Olivia earned her B.A. in Psychology at the College of William and Mary and her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Maryland. She has worked in a variety of settings, including public schools, private clinics, adult rehabilitation centers, and government-funded research institutes.

Her interests include autism, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, language delays, fluency, social language groups, and accent reduction. Prior to becoming a speech-language pathologist, Olivia was trained in ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) and worked with children with autism for several years as a one-to-one behavioral therapist in various in-home programs and a specialized school. She currently works full-time in San Diego City Schools, and part-time at the Crimson Center.

Over the years, she has learned to incorporate discrete trial training (DTT) techniques with other naturalistic approaches to foster increased learning and generalization. Olivia is a Hanen-certified speech pathologist in It Takes Two to Talk, a parent-training program for parents with children demonstrating a delay in language and communication development.  

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With more than 9 years experience as a SLPA, Lynette recently relocated to San Diego from Michigan, where she provided in-home therapy with children with communication disorders. She currently works full-time as a school SLPA, in addition to her collaborative work at Crimson Center.  

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Tina has had extensive experience working with educational and behavioral needs of students with developmental disabilities. She holds an M.A. in Special Education and has worked in the field for more than 12 years. Tina is trained in the TEACCH Training Model for the classroom, and L.E.A.P. (Life Skills and Education for Students with Autism and Pervasive Behavior Disorders) as well as PRT and ABA. She has provided services for Crimson Center since 2004.  

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Jennifer graduated from Cal State San Marcos in May 2008 with her bachelor's degree in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. She has worked as a speech pathology intern for an enrichment/language development group with children 4-9 years old. Jennifer has tutored Spanish speakers in English, and worked with high school students at continuation school in 2007. She plans to enroll in graduate school to earn her master's degree in Speech Language Pathology.  

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Meagan graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology from Sonoma State University in May 2006. She has worked as counselor/behavioral therapist at New Alternatives residential treatment center for children with severe emotional/behavioral problems since 2006.

Meagan worked as a 1:1 inclusion aide with an elementary school aged child with autism in a summer camp in 2008. She previously served as an aide for students with severe developmental disabiities at Ramona High School from 2000 through 2002, and was a peer mentor from 1999 through 2002 for middle school students.

Meagan currently provides individual social skills tutoring and Paired Peer groups at Crimson Center, and is enrolled in Alliant University, working toward her graduate degree in marriage and family therapy.  

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Noelle joined Crimson Center in August, 2007, taking over the arduous job of billing and office manager. Although inundated with an enormous amount of work, she is up to the challenge!  

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Jan has been a diligent protector of family insurance plans. Working with Crimson since 2004, she helps families determine what services are covered by their policies. Jan also is incredibly instrumental in organizing insurance appeals, no matter how long it takes!  

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Josh graduated from the University of Illinois School of Law in August 2007, and passed the California State Bar in February 2008. A 2004 graduate of the University of California, Irvine, he spent one year studying at the University of Madrid. Josh coordinates human resources, insurance agreements and all business related issues.  

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